Justin Timberlake says he means “no disrespect” during ‘Cry Me A River’ performance

15 December, 2023

Justin Timberlake attends special screening of Universal Pictures' "Trolls: Band Together" at TCL Chinese Theatre on November 15, 2023 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images)

Justin Timberlake has hinted at the backlash he has received over his relationship with Britney Spears during a performance of ‘Cry Me A River’.

Timberlake performed a surprise concert in Las Vegas on Wednesday, December 13, as part of the opening for a new Fontainebleau hotel in Sin City. The guest in attendance for the black-tie event included the likes of Kim Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Tom Brady, Keith Urban, Sylvester Stallone and more.

Before jumping into his tenth song of the night, 2002’s hit ‘Cry Me A River’, Timberlake said “no disrespect” followed by the lyrics: “Ain’t we all just entertainers / Think I’m stupid and contagious” from his collab track with Jay-Z, ‘Holy Grail’, and a sample of Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’.

The singer’s comment prior to ‘Cry Me A River’ alluded to the backlash he has received since the release of his ex Britney Spears’ memoir, The Woman In Me. Timberlake’s performance marked the second time he has hit the stage since the memoir was released and the first time performing the track.

In her New York Times best selling book, Spears describes the ‘Cry Me A River’ video as “a woman who looks like me cheats on him and he wanders around sad in the rain”.

She added that the media saw her as a “harlot who’d broken the heart of America’s golden boy” when in reality she was “comatose in Louisiana” trying to mend her broken heart while Timberlake was “happily running around Hollywood”.

The pop star also revealed that she had an abortion while dating Timberlake between 1998 to 2002 because he thought they “weren’t ready to have a baby in our lives” and were “way too young”.

She added: “If it had been left up to me alone, I never would have done it. And yet Justin was so sure that he didn’t want to be a father.”

The Daily Mail also reported that the *NSYNC star thought Spears’ abortion would be their “secret forever”, but said he won’t speak out on the matter to not “get in the way” of Spears telling her story.

Elsewhere in the book, Spears opened up about how she could “barely speak for months” following her break-up with Timberlake.

In other news, Timberlake recently joined BTS’ Jungkook on new remix of the latter’s single ‘3D’.

“This remix enhances the 2000s vibe of the old school sound of the original version, infusing it with a retro charm,” said Jungkook’s label, Big Hit Music, in a statement about the new Justin Timberlake remix.

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